Jalen Brunson’s unexpected shoulder massage stole the spotlight during his postgame interview with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after the Knicks beat the Pacers in Game 5 Thursday night to extend their Eastern Conference Finals series.
The Knicks point guard, who finished with 32 points at Madison Square Garden, was in the midst of a live interview on the court as JR Smith entered the camera frame and began rubbing his shoulder.
“Who’s molesting your shoulder?” Van Pelt asked as Smith — a former Knicks shooting guard — was seen brushing his two championship rings up against Brunson’s arm.
“JR Smith,” said Brunson, who laughed and looked over at the former Knicks guard.
“Tell JR Van Pelt said leave you alone,” the host quipped.
“Nah, he’ll just stay here and keep talking,” Brunson replied.
Smith, who won titles with the Cavaliers in 2016 and the Lakers in 2020, was chirping at Brunson, saying, “You got ring fever now.”
Brunson added, “There’s a lot of people trying to distract me.”
The All-Star point guard helped lead the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000 — and his strong performance forced a Game 6, which is set for Indianapolis on Saturday.
Brunson set the tone for New York early on, scoring the game’s first three baskets with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the first quarter.
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Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 points and 13 rebounds while playing through a bruised knee.
The Knicks looked like a completely different team just two nights after giving up 43 points in the first quarter of a 130-121 loss in Game 4.
“Our backs were against the wall. So, I mean, we’ve got to give it everything we got,” Brunson said after Game 5.
Emotions are heightened as this is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals, which Indiana won in seven games.
The Pacers are on the brink of their second trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history.
